Alkaline Water Improves Quality of Life in IBS Patients
Effects of Alkaline-Reduced Drinking Water on Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea: A Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study
Research hubs: Digestive System
- Evidence type
- Randomized controlled trial · Human study
- Authors
- Dong Woo Shin, Hyuk Yoon, Hyun Soo Kim, Yoon Jin Choi, Cheol Min Shin, Young Soo Park, Nayoung Kim, Dong Ho Lee
- Journal
- Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Year
- 2018
- PMID
- 29849734
- Study Type
- Human
- Participants
- 27
- Delivery
- Water (Electrolysis)
- Dose
- at least 2 liters/day for 8 weeks
- Duration
- 8 weeks
- Funding
- Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency's 2014 Medibio products clinical trial support program
- Conflicts of interest
- None declared
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 24 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- South Korea
TL;DR
Drinking alkaline-reduced water (ARW) for eight weeks can make people with a certain type of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) feel better overall.
Key Finding
Patients drinking alkaline-reduced water for eight weeks showed significantly greater improvement in IBS-related quality-of-life scores compared to those drinking placebo water.
Summary
This small study tested whether alkaline-reduced water (water treated to be less acidic and contain more hydrogen) could help people with irritable bowel syndrome who experience diarrhea. Over eight weeks, 27 patients either drank at least 2 liters daily of alkaline-reduced water or placebo water. The alkaline-reduced water group showed greater improvement in quality-of-life scores related to their IBS symptoms compared to the placebo group, though abdominal pain improvements were similar between groups.
Practical Takeaway
This is a small pilot study (only 27 participants) suggesting alkaline-reduced water may help with IBS-related quality of life, though the improvement in actual abdominal pain was not significantly different from placebo. Larger studies would be needed to confirm whether this effect is real and meaningful for most people with diarrhea-predominant IBS.
Abstract (excerpt)
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the ingestion of alkaline-reduced water (ARW) is helpful in improving the symptoms of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Methods: Twenty-seven patients (male, 25.9%; mean, 41.7 years old) with diarrhea-predominant…